Serious Entertaining: Super Bowl Pizza Party

Super Bowl Sunday belongs to pizza. Oh sure, give the wings a nod, but every statistic proves that the Super Bowl is synonymous with pizza. However, game day pizza parties present challenges to your typical pizza party routine, where pizza is the focus. Namely, you need to be able to actually watch that damn game! You can't very well do that when you're manning the oven. You could go the easy route and order pizza, but Super Bowl Sunday is the busiest pizza delivery day of the year! Do you really want to be a victim of subpar, lukewarm, sloppily made delivery pizza? Here's a way to put on your pizza making game face and stay in the football-watching action!

Pre-Game Pizza Snacks

[Photograph: Adam Kuban]

Kick it off with some pizza-inspired snacks! While you're making up the dough for the pies, you could also whip up some extra for Garlic Knots or Monkey Bread (regular or the garlic knot variety). Of course, store bought dough is a time saver and makes a good stand-in for these recipes. Homemade Pizza Rolls are a classic addition and are a perfect pre-pizza finger food. And don't forget the dhorst Secret Dipping Sauce!

Pizza Touchdown

[Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

The best pizzas to serve at parties are those that eliminate the need for stretching, rolling, kneading, and transferring from peel to stone. Luckily we've got a couple of recipes in our arsenal that fit the bill. All of the recipes here are no-knead, so you can essentially mix and dump these into a baking sheet or skillet and minimally stretch them into place. While most allow for an overnight ferment to develop flavor, the Basic Square Pan Pizza relies on more oil for flavor and can be done from scratch to finish in a matter of hours. Making the other doughs the day before (or even a couple of days before) can really help cut back on the game day scramble. Mix it up by making 2 or more styles for your guests to choose from.

Party End Zone

If you are planning on having guests involved in choosing toppings, a topping bar let's everyone get creative. (For topping ideas, check out this post.) Or keep it simple by selecting the toppings ahead of time, but offer a couple of post-bake toppers that guests can add, such as fresh herbs, chili oil, grated Parmesan, honey, or spicy dried peppers.

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